The Dairy Division permits and inspects the dairy farms in Indiana. A large portion of these farms are located in northern Indiana.
The Dairy Division has field inspectors located throughout the state that are responsible for conducting routine inspections of these farms. Dairy farms are required to be inspected a minimum of every six months; most are inspected more frequently as needed.
The majority of Indiana dairy farms are made up of the average family farm, milking 100-200 cows. Indiana also has several major production farms with carousel systems milking 1000-2000 cows. Indiana also has several farms using automatic milking systems (robots).
Indiana has several farms that process their own milk, in their own approved and licensed dairy products processing facility. Some are operated as Grade A and some process as manufactured grade.
The majority of the dairy farms in Indiana milk cows, however there are some dairies milking goats.
Regulations vary between Grade A and manufactured grade, but regardless of size, all farms receive the same level of inspection by BOAH staff to ensure that the milking practices are safe.
Starting a Dairy
Requirements & References
Dairy Farm Permits
Type of Permit: Dairy Farm - Grade A or Manufactured Grade
Who Needs This Permit?
- Any dairy farm in Indiana operating and providing, selling or offers for sale raw milk for pasteurization or processing milk and milk products.
- Both Grade A and Manufactured Grade farms
- This includes milk from cows, buffalo, sheep, goats, yaks, etc.
Licensing Period:
- Permits remain valid for farm until suspended, cancelled or revoked.
- Permits may be approved for a name change if the change is within the family currently operating the farm.
- If the farm ceases operation for any reason, the farm must be reapproved by BOAH personnel.
Requirements:
- Submit dairy farm permit application
- Submit the Application to Install New or Modify Existing Milk Operation, with blueprints if applicable
- Satisfactory water sample collected by BOAH personnel if applicable
- Satisfactory inspection and approval of dairy farm facilities
Indiana Dairy Farm Stats
Grade A Farms = 677
Manufactured Grade Farms = 11
Total = 688
These dairy farms consist of a wide variety of operations.
Organic = 211
Automatic Milking Systems (AMI or Robots) = 32
Processing milk from their dairy animals (Farmstead) = 15
Goat Dairies = 12
Dairy Farm Numbers and Inspectors by County (Indiana map)
Updated May 31, 2024